From the Ashes of the Crisis Arises Opportunity

With high unemployment and an aging population dependent on public pension and healthcare systems, Greece needs jobs. The best way to create jobs is to create startups, which provide the opportunity for socioeconomic mobility and social impact for the Greeks in Greece, for the half-million well-educated Greeks who left during the crisis and could be enticed to return, and even for the resident refugees. My own grandmother, born in Smyrna in 1907, was a refugee; she was the brain drain and the re-brain, and she was an entrepreneur. Crisis begets opportunity. Marina Hatsopoulos, born in the US to Greek parents, was Founding CEO of Z Corporation, an early leader in 3D printing. She has served on numerous corporate boards and is on the National Board of Research & Innovation for the Republic of Cyprus, the MIT Corporation Visiting Committee for the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and the Advisory Boards of MIT Enterprise Forum Greece and Eurobank’s EGG incubator. She is a graduate of Brown University (BA, Math and Music) and MIT (MS, Mechanical Engineering), and writes articles and short stories (windystreet.com).